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[/media-credit]Going into a season running a new type of car, you’d think the biggest thing that’d stand in the way of having a good, solid finish would be learning how to drive the cars. However, so far for Rob Poole and team, it’s been bad luck that has been bitten him so far.
At Sunset Speedway in his first ever feature, he was involved in two separate incidents, however still managed to come home with a top 10 finish of eighth.
“It was a good time the first night out, learning the car,” Poole said. “It was something different.”
Going into the race at Barrie, Poole said he wasn’t looking forward to the night.
“Hopefully we don’t too crashing and banging and wrecking,” he said before the race. It was predicted that it’d be a caution filled event due to how tight Barrie Speedway is.
To compound issues, there were motor problems in practice, however the team was able to get them figured out before the first heat race.
In the feature, Poole started 12th and was running fifth with 11 laps to go when the rear end let go, resulting in a 12th place finish.
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[/media-credit]The three-time Sunset Speedway Thunder Car Champion made the decision to move up to OSCAAR during the off-season. Last season, he had competed full-time in the Limited Late Model division at Sunset Speedway, finishing third in points with two feature victories.
“We decided to do it just for something new and different, instead of going to Sunset Speedway every Saturday night,” Poole says. “The schedule is a little nicer, not so hectic in the summer as we’re all getting older and having less and less time for racing. So thought OSCAAR would be a fun way to still race, but have a few nights off, too.”
For the rookie, the goals are simple – have fun, try new tracks and bring the car home in one piece. One of the tracks that Poole is looking forward to getting to is Kawartha Speedway, which was rained out at the beginning of the month. The make-up date is set for September 7th.
“I’ve raced there a little bit,” Poole says. “Another track I’m looking forward to Delaware – never raced there, been there to watch a few times. It looks big and fast, and hopefully we can make it down there and run well.”
“The Professional” got involved in racing through a friend who was helping Herb Walters, before buying the thunder car that was pitted beside Walters. Since then, the success over the span of 11 years has been impressive, including three thunder car championships. After the thunder car success, Poole moved up to the Late Model ranks where he has had success in multiple wins.
Of the wins that he has had in his career, some of the most memorable wins including his first late model victory, winning the last feature on the
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[/media-credit]last night of the third thunder car championship season and some of the invitationals at Barrie Speedway.
Poole says for him, he’s always tried to stay patient no matter what.
“I’ve always been one to try and be patient, not to let my temper get the best of me,” he said. “Sometimes I get frustrated, but I always just try and be patient. That’s all you can do; not try and wreck the equipment.”
In making this year happen, Poole would like to thank his crew as they spend a lot of hours working on the car. He’d also like to thank his sponsors for their support: Visser Farms, Multi-Tech Machine and Welding, AGNAV, Alliston Auto Sales, R.A Electrical, Central Industrial Supply, Everlast, B.F.I, Reliable Waste Management and Triple Crown Auto Collison Ltd.
For more information on Rob Poole, check out http://robpooleracing.com/, like the “Rob Poole” facebook page and follow both Rob Poole Racing (@RobPooleRacing) & Rob Poole (@rpr45) on twitter.
